text: Job Discussion Forums :: View topic - Considering moving to the UAE - savings and experience? Get TEFL Certified & Start Your Adventure Today! Job Discussion Forums"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!" FAQ Search Memberlist Usergroups Register Profile Log in to check your private messages Log in Considering moving to the UAE - savings and experience? Goto page Previous 1, 2, 3, 4 Next Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> United Arab Emirates View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message nomad soulJoined: 31 Jan 2010Posts: 11454Location: The real world Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 12:14 pm Post subject: Good for you for being proactive in your career planning. As for other Gulf countries, you might consider Oman. Good luck! Back to top rosscJoined: 08 Sep 2012Posts: 25 Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 12:30 pm Post subject: Nomad Soul, actually, I meant Oman! I have no idea why I wrote Sudan. I haven't even considered looking at that as a place to teach. Think I'm just tired! Back to top iggybJoined: 19 Aug 2012Posts: 36 Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 1:32 pm Post subject: The book below isn't geared for ESL, but it has some ideas that can work. http://www.amazon.com/Image-Grammar-Grammatical-Structures-Writing/dp/0867094664 If you are teaching Korean university students, the book should offer some useful ideas -- even at the intermediate level -- due to the amount of years the students have already been exposed to English. I'd think it would also fit with Koreans due to the amount of grammar they have crammed down their throats in secondary school. The book will give them a different feel for grammar and the language. It shows in a way that is easy to understand how professional writers do their craft. I haven't used it with Koreans myself, but an instructor in writing I loaned the book to at a program where we taught Korean English teachers ended up basing his curriculum on it. (In fact, he kept begging to keep it so much I finally gave it to him and have to replace it...) Back to top veiledsentimentsJoined: 20 Feb 2003Posts: 17644Location: USA Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 1:34 pm Post subject: Whew... Oman is a much better choice than Sudan. BTW, your plan sounds good. Doing another contract and looking at various ways to teach writing is a good idea. VS Back to top veiledsentimentsJoined: 20 Feb 2003Posts: 17644Location: USA Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 1:43 pm Post subject: iggyb wrote: The book below isn't geared for ESL, but it has some ideas that can work. http://www.amazon.com/Image-Grammar-Grammatical-Structures-Writing/dp/0867094664 While that text looks great for native speakers, it looks a bit too "wordy" for the majority of Arabic speakers. (don't know about Korean student needs) In the Gulf, you are working with very low levels and they need Academic Writing. What shows up on Amazon appear to be directed towards creative writing. VS Back to top rosscJoined: 08 Sep 2012Posts: 25 Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 2:09 pm Post subject: VS and Nomad Soul, Seems like u have been out in the Gulf for awhile. Used any good textbooks for writing u can recommend which may be good? I reckon Arabic and Korean learns are not so different! Back to top johnslatJoined: 21 Jan 2003Posts: 13859Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 4:12 pm Post subject: Dear rossc, I think this is a decent series: "Focus on Writing is an academic writing program that provides students with essential tools to master not only the key steps in the writing process, but also the grammatical structures, lexical knowledge, and rhetorical modes essential for academic writing. This five-level series progresses with students as they grow in confidence and ability from sentence level (Book 1) through paragraphs (Books 13) and essays (Books 35). Each unit leads writers step-by-step through the process of prewriting, writing a first draft, revising, and editing before producing a final draft. Not only do students write an entire paragraph or essay in each unit, they are also given plenty of practice at the sentence and word levels." I'd have used it in Saudi if it had been available then - I'm using Book 3 now with my ESL upper-level Transitions students, most of whom will be taking college credit classes next. The series builds nicely, from sentences (simple, complex, compound) to paragraphs, to essays. Regards, John Back to top iggybJoined: 19 Aug 2012Posts: 36 Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 10:05 pm Post subject: VS I think you can look at it two ways: 1 that it does focus more on creative writing than academic -- but -- 2 that it's primary focus is on building an understanding of grammar through process writing. And a better feel for grammar in reading and writing should transfer between styles. I don't really believe in focusing only on academic or creative writing. I much prefer to have the students experience creating a variety of texts. That is why I dislike the formulaic academic writing too commonly taught in the US to native speakers. In the writing process I used in the US, the first finished text they wrote would be an essay - because the tests they have to take before graduation are so important, but for the newsletter, I'd have them change it to a news format or poem or something else. One thing I liked about it was how it helped deal with mixed level classes: The lower levels had a hard time with the formal essay, but they did practice it, then they could change it to a type of text that better suited their ability. That book I linked is geared to native speakers, but I believe it isn't too difficult to modify it to suit the ESL classroom. Much depends on the type of texts you select to read and your expectations on what they write. I think it would work with Korean adults, because they have spent so many years studying English already - even if their abiity to use the language is still low. I'm not sure that is true in the ME. Back to top veiledsentimentsJoined: 20 Feb 2003Posts: 17644Location: USA Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2012 1:16 am Post subject: I can tell you that it isn't a process that will work in the Gulf. It is near impossible to do much creative writing when you have a class where most of them can't write a simple one clause sentence. You have usually a max of 2 semesters (best case 3 or 4) to get them from that level to the 5 paragraph academic essay. The reality is that you can't, but they are pushed ahead anyway. You spend most of your time teaching them ways to deal with their deficiencies. You have no time to waste on "creativity" or fun little exercises. It is a hard slog of drafts and more drafts... and teaching them how to find their mistakes (often by finding them in their classmates' essays) and correct them. After getting past those first essays where the 2nd draft is miraculously fabulous... written by the Filipino maid, their US graduate student big brother, or even their father... (he got his PhD in the UK) I never used textbooks except at the lowest levels, and have used the ones John mentioned. Mostly I used my own materials directed to the course and students. Low level texts are easy to find and there are lots of good ones. The problem comes once you get to the essay. Native speaker texts are totally unusable, as are even the ESL texts used in Anglophone countries. They are WAY over their heads. VS Back to top DedicatedJoined: 18 May 2007Posts: 972Location: UK Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2012 7:10 am Post subject: iggyb, I have to agree wholeheartedly with VS about writing skills in the UAE. Try to get hold of a copy of "Keep Writing" by Richard Harrison (Longman), which is a basic writing coursebook designed specifically to develop writing skills of Arab students. There are 2 books, Levels 1 and 2. This was used on the Foundation programme at HCT. http://www.books.google.com/books/about/Keep_Writing.html?id Back to top rosscJoined: 08 Sep 2012Posts: 25 Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2012 7:12 am Post subject: Johnslat, had a look for the Focus on Writing book at my local ESL bookstore but couldn't find it to flick through the pages to assess it. I did however have a look at Effective Academic Writing (1,2 and 3) published by Oxford, and First Steps in Academic Writing (L2) and Introduction to Academic Writing (L3) published by Pearson and Longman. Have you used any of those books? Can you offer any comments as to how they compare to Focus on Writing? Anyone found these books to be pretty good? They looked like the most user-friendly ones on the shelf. The only thing is there is a lot of material and realistically I can only teach 1 hour a week for maybe 12-14 weeks. Not sure how much progression I can make with the students during that time! When you gentleman teach writing courses, how many hours a week do you have students for? Back to top veiledsentimentsJoined: 20 Feb 2003Posts: 17644Location: USA Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2012 2:56 pm Post subject: rossc wrote: Not sure how much progression I can make with the students during that time! When you gentleman teach writing courses, how many hours a week do you have students for? This gentlewoman normally taught writing only courses. The students in most of my university/college foundations programs usually had pure writing only courses for about 5-10 hours a week. (hint... it wasn't enough) At places like HCT they also had a 10 hour a week integrated skills course, which included a writing component. (take a moment to pity students in 20 hours a week of English classes...) For a credit course... like those given by US universities for Freshman/First year students... it was officially 3 hours a week, but I spent much more in individual work with the students outside of class. The "Keep Writing" texts are good and very commonly used in the Gulf. VS Back to top johnslatJoined: 21 Jan 2003Posts: 13859Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2012 4:51 pm Post subject: Dear rossc, The "Effective Academic Writing" series is, in my opinion, also quite good. I wouldn't say the same about First Steps to Academic Writing. Some of the exercises involve sentence parsing (analyzing sentence structure,) which may appeal to some students but generally speaking tends to produce confusion rather than understanding. "Introduction to Academic Writing," the 3rd edition, is an improvement over the 2nd edition, but both books (i.e. "First Steps" and "Introduction") are, to my mind, a little too "Western oriented" for the Middle East. "Keep Writing" may be the best for the Middle East. Regards, John P.S. I use the "Focus on Writing" text only as supplement. Most of the materials I use are self-produced. Back to top rosscJoined: 08 Sep 2012Posts: 25 Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 9:52 am Post subject: VS, I do apologise for my assumption. I am sorry to make such a generalisation! I went to buy Effective Academic Writing today but the shop was closed, I guess that gives me time to check out Keep Writing. If that book is being used in Arabic countries it would be good to have experience teaching it. I'll look into it. One final question, a bit of the topic but it is relevant for me. For people who have worked in Oman and the UAE, how do the locals perceive the police. I ask as before teaching I was a police officer for seven years in the UK and I was wondering whether that should be something I should try avoid when talking about my work history. I found in Korea, Koreans reacted very positively and my experience was it actually helped my applications. I was wondering if anyone can offer insight as to Arab perceptions of my work history?Last edited by rossc on Sun Sep 16, 2012 12:57 pm; edited 1 time in total Back to top scot47Joined: 10 Jan 2003Posts: 15343 Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 10:34 am Post subject: ' "Keep Writing" by Richard Harrison (Longman), which is a basic writing coursebook designed specifically to develop writing skills of Arab students. ' This says it all. Your students will not be up for CREATIVE WRITING. They are at a very basic level - think of how you might be with a foreign langauge after a couple of years in school. As for being an ex-policeman I would be honest. Police do NOT have a very high status in UAE or KSA ! (Or in the UK after Hillsborough.)Last edited by scot47 on Thu Sep 20, 2012 7:28 pm; edited 1 time in total Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> United Arab Emirates All times are GMTGoto page Previous 1, 2, 3, 4 Next Page 2 of 4 Jump to: Select a forum Where to Begin----------------General DiscussionNewbie ForumCurrent Events ForumTechnology ForumOnline Teaching Forum Africa Forums----------------General Africa Forum Asia Forums----------------CambodiaChina (Job-related Posts Only)China (Off-Topic)Hong KongIndiaIndonesiaJapanMalaysiaPhilippinesSingaporeTaiwanThailandGeneral Asia ForumVietnam Caribbean Forums----------------General Caribbean Forum Europe Forums----------------Czech RepublicFranceGermanyGreeceItalyMacedonia and the BalkansPolandRomaniaRussia & C.I.S.SpainTurkeyUkraineUnited KingdomGeneral Europe Forum Latin America Forums----------------ArgentinaBrazilChileColombiaCosta RicaMexicoMexico (off-topic)PeruGeneral Latin America Forum The Middle East Forums----------------BahrainEgyptIsraelKuwaitOmanQatarSaudi ArabiaUnited Arab EmiratesGeneral Middle East Forum North America Forums----------------General North America Forum Oceania----------------Australia/New Zealand You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling. 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text:
List: https://www.imdb.com/list/ls023366437/
Poll: https://www.imdb.com/poll/dOQs1f3ZsR0/
What I know is that Morocco is in the party, finally, after 20 years!
Not sure how good we are but we had the best defense of the elimination games (0 goals in 6 games!)
I guess it has a tough luck to come in best 16 but you never know.
It's a shame that Morocco never had a great athletic year ever since 2004... and that we lost two opportunities to be in the World Cup and in both cases it was a matter of ONE goal, ONE lousy goal that made us lose... I'm just glad they finally broke their streak, because we "used to get used" of not getting in the World Cup and it was always frustrating to see neighbors like Algeria and Tunisia get in and we couldn't...
The problem is that we start with Spain, Portugal and Iran, Spain was humiliated last World Cup so they won't have it now, Portugal is European Champion so they have something to prove... and the worse thing is that we start with Iran, so Iranians will also think that this will be the game to win, so it's gonna be a very very tough match.
What I hate is the way France is always lucky with the groups (my wife is French) I mean, sure they have Denmark but Australia and Peru? It's like they already got their ticket for the Best 16.
I was very glad that Morocco finally came back, they made a fantastic world cup in 1998, the first one I saw, and I hated that they missed the second round just because Brazil refused to beat Norway. Then, they somehow never came back despite being one of the most common participants from Africa.
I think that, based on their defense, they are one of the teams that may surprise. I hope they advance with Spain.
Please put a question mark at the end of the title.
Russia has a good chance. WHY? Watch this year's Oscar winning Documentary Feature 'Icarus'.
France vs. Brazil. Brazil beating France 2 to 1
Germany vs. Argentina. Germany beating Argentina, same score (I don't think Messi's curse will be broken but I'm sure Argentina will eliminate host country Russia)
and then I have Germany beating Brazil 2 to 0
So I guess you have Germany beating Argentina (alt. Russia) and France beating Brazil (alt. Belgium) for a European final game. Interesting
Belgium beats Brazil
Spain beats Argentina
France beats Belgium
Germany beats Spain
Although in the last test match, Spain looked a bit stronger than Germany. We'll see. Most of the time, at least one frontrunner gets knocked out early, and an underdog makes it to the quarter- or semifinals.
It's hard to believe that we managed to knock out Italy in the play-offs.
Well, in the case of Mexico there is very little faith in our manager, and for the first time in many years there is a feeling that we won't be able to make it pass the first round. There seems to be much more faith in us by foreign press than in our country, specially since we start with Germany that beat us badly when we met them last summer.
But let's make a deal, we'll both do the impossible and beat Germany and the logical and beat Korea and then we will just have a nice football match with both teams qualified :)
But let's make a deal, we'll both do the impossible and beat Germany and the logical and beat Korea and then we will just have a nice football match with both teams qualified :)Sounds like a plan. ;)
Not at all, should Mexico and Sweden arrive with six points to the last match both will still have to give a good game in order to avoid Brazil. So there will be no disgrace of the sort.
And don't worry Albstein, I'm actually just hoping you don't trash us with many goals like the 4-1 you scored at us in the Confederations Cup or the big scorelines you always manage in your first match.
Oh my, its unbelievable, one of the most important victories in our history and our manager has vindicated hilmself. We believed we were on the way to another second round elimination because it seemed impossible to defeat one of the two favourites to win the whole thing, now we are hopeful. It would be crazy to have a Brazil vs. Germany so soon in the tournament. Now let's see what Sweden and Korea have to say in their favour.
And an important victory por Denmark too yesterday, I think Peru was the biggest threat for them to advance, now they are on their way to the second round, and since Argentina looked bad, they may face an unexpected team like Croatia or Iceland, which would make an interesting duel.
Jessica!, we had an agreement, now we have to fight for our lives.
It has been a fantastic group and worth the expectations, this three teams deserve the next round, I can't say the same about Uruguay for example.
I'm only sad for Marco Reus. Such a great player who always suffered setbacks from injuries. Now in his first World Cup he did well but gets thrown out after a bad team performance :(
This is why Football it's called the "beautiful game".
I am in shock, elimination was over us after Sweden scored that second goal, it was our worst match in the first round since 1978. I was sure we were out. Now we are missing a poll board member from Korea so I can thank him for their victory.
Congratulations on your victory Jessica, If this was the team that I should not worry at all as you told me, I don't want to imagine how would you have beat us if we had to worry about them. Good lick in the rest of the tournament.
I don't fancy my chances against Brazil, but we'll do what we can.
Brazil, Germany or Spain.
Then the rest.
May I suggest an edit to the intro? ('below in bold: 'just added "and is" and then also a comma after "July")
The 2018 FIFA World Cup will be the 21st FIFA World Cup and is scheduled to take place in Russia from 14th June to 15th July, 2018.
Even I love to watch some underdog surprising all the prominent participators.
But in the end "the most deserving one winning the tournament" always gives up a happy feeling.
The craziest thing is that CR7 is my brother's all-time idol and watching him play against his national team will be a pretty schizophrenic situation.
But like in Euro 2016, we must believe and hope for the best.
Unfortunately Morocco are on same the group with Spain and Portugal, so it will be tough for you.
Not only we did, but we were the best of the group and didn't get one single goal against us. Spain will be tough, Portugal even tougher, and Iran will see us as the team-to-defeat. Ironically, Portugal was also with Morocco in 1986, Morocco won and made it to the next round... but I know it'll be tough, because in the family, everyone encourages Real Madrid and given how capable Cristiano is when it comes to carry the whole team... for me, the best game of the last Euro Cup was against Hungary, and you could tell he was hung(a)ry to win.
What I hate is that France always gets easy team (Peru, Australia...) and we always get tough opponents. The worst thing would be to play a good game and lose nonetheless, that's typical of Morocco, being unlucky or waking up too late.
The reason why I think Morocco will be difficult is because there is nothing to lose at this stage has everything to gain, and as a rule is in these situations we play more for the country, for example, we look at Iceland in the last Euro, who do you think would be the surprise or who would think that Portugal, who came in third in a group with Austria, Hungary and Iceland, would win the World Cup.
Just believe it.
If Portugal wins against Spain and Morocco wins against Iran, anything is possible.
If one of them lose or end in a tie and the other team wins, it'll be extremely tough for it to have a second consecutive win.
If they both lose, then it'll be a massacre lol:)
Please also make the edits rubyfruit suggested above. :)
Thanks for mentioning ruby's suggestion, must have missed it.
The Final Four:
Thanos, Heath Ledger's Joker, Harley Quinn, and Betty White (to win it all).
Which Country Will Win the 2018 FIFA World Cup?
6489th Live Poll: https://www.imdb.com/poll/dOQs1f3ZsR0/
Seen: http://www.imdb.com/seen//ls023366437
This is the 2,865th Title poll. Such polls have a total of 7,020,428 votes for an average of 2,450 votes per poll.
Total Number of Votes 15,521,180 Projected Date of 20 Million Votes 11-Jan-2020 Days Until 20 Million Votes 597This is the list of iakhtar-33380's polls as of 17-May-2018:
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Key Threads - IMDb Poll FAQs Index https://getsatisfaction.com/imdb/topics/faq-key-threads-imdb-poll-faqs-index
How to Improve the Chance of Having your Poll on the Home Page https://getsatisfaction.com/imdb/topics/faq-how-to-improve-the-chance-of-having-your-poll-on-the-hom...
I am Mexican, so I support them first, and after that I go with Spain, because my grandparents were born there and I still have many relatives there.
After that I support the underdogs and I always go for teams that perform above expectations and defeat the big teams, for that reason I was hoping Iran passed over Portugal.
I know people in Colombia and I've been to Senegal so I don't mind to see those two get far.
Congrats on your qualification.
Then we had a tough game with Portugal but I knew we wouldn't win no matter the efforts, CR7 was efficient (his talent will loosen up with Iran of course, not with us) and when there's an American referee, we're always doomed... not accusing him of course, but we lost in 1998 because an American referre (ironically of Iranian descent) gave a last-minute penalty to Norway... making Brazil lose the game while we only needed a victory (we won against Scotland 3-0) and at least a tie between Brazil and Norway.
Morocco's coach and the players complained about the lack of VAR use during the game, I don't really mind these controversies but I noticed the referee was more zealous when it came to Spain against Morocco. The craziest thing is that at the 90th minute, Iran had just made a tie with Portugal and Morocco was winning so Iran was "in" for the quarterfinals, until the penalty given to Spain cancelled their chances. Iran lived exactly the same scenario than Morocco 20 years ago.
I felt sorry for Iran and retrospectively, I was almost glad we had lost the game against them, because if we hadn't, then we had to win against Spain to be qualified, and I can't think of the impact that last-minute penalty would have made on us, it would have been far more cruel than just letting us end in a tie instead of a honorific victory.
That Group B was quite a tough one... but some times, I had the feeling the VAR technology was mainly used for helping the 'Big' teams but then again, many penalties were given for Iran and Nigeria, so I guess it's debatable... but if the referee had really cancelled the Koran goal against Germany because of 'off-side', the scandal would have been obvious, it's sad for Germany but it's not the first time a Champion doesn't make it to the quarters.
France in 2002
Italy in 2010
Spain in 2014
And now Germany
Interesting part Serbia tops in Group F.
But yeah, it's crazy. Before the match I didn't think we'd even progress, and now we're top of the group all of a sudden.
I think Germany is one of these generational turn-over phases... maybe they took their group for granted and didn't expect to face so much resistance from Mexico, France had a better luck with its group but it's time for the players to show their REAL worth against Argentina (if Argentina decides to play)...
I liked the German team precisely because it's a team, it doesn't rely one on individual... maybe it was both a blessing and a curse for this World Cup.
Oh well, welcome to the "we didn't make it" club :)
Speaking of that, it took me almost 30 years to figure out that Lucky Luke's outfit was (fittingly) inspired by the Belgian flag's colors.
Holy cow! Thanks to you I "figured it out" now before I get 25.
Germany perplexes me, I actually thought they would be even stronger this time, with a mixture of experienced World Cup champions and the younglings who won the Confed Cup. Or were Mexico, Sweden and South Korea just too tough to beat? Maybe we can agree on that :)
My family has Argentinian and Polish ties as well, and each group was confident before the start, and depressed after the first matches. How Argentina made it is still hard to grasp. Maybe Germany would have needed a Messi for once.
In contrast to the teams mentioned, Morocco played with nice style in a tough group and lost narrowly. With a bit of luck, they could have made it to the next round.
All in all, the frontrunners were mostly disappointing, except for one, and so far they played the most beautiful football I've ever seen in a World Cup: Vive la Belgique!
Morocco was never lucky with luck if you see what I mean... the game is pretty much lost when we start depending on 'what if' situations. We had to win against Iran, and the worst happened... end of the game, a free kick for a mistake that shouldn't have happened, the Iranian player was smart enough not to reach the ball that was going too fast for him and decided to block the Moroccan player so he could push him and earn them the last free kick and even then, it had to be the guy who just entered the game and who deviates the ball... I mean, even if our worst nigthmare, we couldn't expect this to happen...
... and with Portugal, we have no real excuse, we fought hard but at the end, it's all about scoring.
I could understand in the Beckham/Zidane/Ronaldo days when it seemed like everything was marketing-oriented but why would you hate specifically the Real? Is it something personal? Do you think they just stole their victories? I mean they've spent 12 years without a single win, it's not like they were worth anything for many years, much less people's hatred.
I'm not surprised by the hatred, I support the team out of solidarity for my father and my two brothers and my best friend who happen to be hardcore fans from the start... so I like it when they're happy but I never could get over that level of hatred the team got.... or any team for that matter.
Not to mention that many Real players contributed very positively to their respective teams during that World Cup...
Its personal. First, when I started caring about football, I was keen to like them, because most of my family (on my father side) loved them, but then I found that marketing oriented team you mention, and that made an everlasting impression.
Second, my family (on my mother side) were Republicans and were exiled in Mexico due to Franco's victory at the Civil War. During the dictatorship Real Madrid was Franco's team, and so it represents everything that hurt my family.
Third, they always seem to threat their players with a terrible lack of respect.
First time I knew about them, they were champions and fired their manager and their captain before they could even raise the cup. Then valuable players that have always give so much to the team like Raúl or Iker Casillas are always humilliated before being sacked.
Finally, the lack of respect for the national team they showed just before this World Cup was disgusting and it could hurt Spain a lot.
So I just have to support anyone who plays against them. In any case I belive it is one of those temas you either love or hate, there's no other way.
1/ The problem is that every big team is marketing oriented, the World Cup is marketing oriented, the whole game is marketing oriented, let's not kid ourselves.
I remember Blatter had made it a point of honor that South Africa was going to host the first African World Cup and was vocal about it from the start, before the votes, despite the fact that Morocco was a candidate for the fourth time... We had a solid case but we clearly didn't have an icon like Nelson Mandela, so the world had to get all 'Waka Waka' over South Africa. It's all about big bucks, image and 'marketing'... so maybe Real Madrid overplayed a bit to the point the detractors started calling them 'Spice Boys', but we're only speaking of three or four years, and fruitless at that.
I remember I did a marketing essay about Real Madrid in 2004, it was before they lost to Monaco and started their descent to hell, they didn't win for years and years, and my brothers always blamed it on my work and the way it jinxed the team. Anyway, that's just to say that Real Madrid went too 'galactic' for its own good but it's just the past, it's not like the team made marketing headlines after hiring CR7.
2/ Now, that's unfair. You know that 99,999% of all the people who work for the team or in the team weren't around at the time of the Civil War, you also realize that none of the players weren't around during Franco's regime... and you do realize that Spain has questioned the most painful chapters of its history with self-criticism and dignity... it's like saying that Italy shouldn't get four stars because two of them were earned during Mussolini's regime.
I have the most profound respect for the tragic life episodes you shared, but I'm not sure about the way they hold up as a rational argument because you might as well call Real Madrid a fascist team and that's going a bit overboard.
3/ I don't get these vibes from Real Madrid, I mean not more or less specifically than any other team... yes, you have the stars and the rest of the team is pretty much treated like cattle. You know, you might be right, but it's a rather subjective statement, maybe you're focused on Real Madrid and miss out worst cases from other teams.
4/ Well, then, you have a problem with the staff management, you know, my brother who has an encyclopedic knowledge and a passionate dedication to the club would perhaps agree with you but he supports the team, the players, the spectacular results, the ambiance in Bernabeu, not the politics... and when he learned that Zidane left the club, he admitted it was the right move because if he had lost, he would have been treated like crap, and if he had won and lost the following year, he would be treated as if none of the good things happened.
So I'm not negating what you're saying, but it's not like other clubs have boy scouts philosophy either (many Arsenal fans would have loved to see Wenger kicked out without any ceremony a few years ago) and if we extended that logic, we would all hate the United States because of its government...which doesn't make sense.
That said, I don't remember Raul being humiliated but Casillas was pretty much hated by the fans at the twilight of his career and they were glad he left. He was a team pillar for a decade but that didn't make him immune to criticism, especially when he screwed up like he did in 2014 (remember that game against Netherlands)... you can be a hero yesterday and a pariah the day after, look at Wenger's reputation.
5/ It's all part of the business, even Griezman was approached by the Atletico Madrid staff when he was supposed to prepare the game against Australia... not the same case of course but I don't think it's the strongest argument because if one thing, it's all the coach's fault and secondly, you already hated the team before, so I'm not sure it changed a lot after that (you didn't go from hatred level 98.7 to hatred level 99.6 lol).
Besides, Real Madrid is regarded as the 'national club', unlike the independentists and more rebellious ones from Barcelona, so I don't think they really intended to hurt Spain.
That said, I'm glad you didn't use the Messi / CR7 thing in your argumentation :)
If we talk about economic ethics, there are probably just a handful among the big clubs that actually pursue "Financial Fair Play" and don't build their sports success on enormous debts - Arsenal, Sevilla, Bayern. Speaking of which, Bayern is the most hated team in Germany. What did they do wrong? Well, they dominate the league and win 90% of the trophies. That's all - success breeds hatred.
One other reason to hate Real Madrid in recent years were the nasty defenders Pepe and Ramos, who lost my respect in the CL final against Salah. It was so obvious that he just wanted to get rid of the opponent's best player and injured him on purpose.
But even then, defenders like them are probably not an exception, and unfortunately most footballers are not great sportsmen. Luis "the biter" Suarez comes to mind, and he plays for Barca.
(one good thing about Real Madrid though: when they didn't need Raúl anymore, he was sold cheaply to the club in my vicinity, Schalke. They never would have dreamed to have such a legendary player in their team :)
Spain over France
Who I want to win Portugal (because it's my country)
Who probably gonna win: the better team
Unless Brazil and Sweden reach the last match, we will have a never before seen World Cup final.
My dream final is Mexico vs. Spain, my country vs. the country where my family came from.
My expectation is Brazil vs either Croatia or England.
Since 1958, every 20 years we have a new World Champion, will it happen a fourth time?
Argentina and Denmark also Out.
World Cup at its best.
Sad for Portugal, but this is football and sometimes the team that plays better doesn't not necessarily win the game. We, Portugal, usually play poorly and win or tie the game, unfortunately, when we finally play better, we lose. What counts is scoring more goals than the opponent and for me, that's the only justice in football (as long as it's legal).
Congrats on Uruguay this is the style they play, so we have to respect this, we get stuck in the similar style we usually use against other teams.
Football is not only about attacking well it is also defending well and compacted.
At the end of the day who score more goals playing with their style and a little luck wins and that is beauty, my friends.
Go get them...
Will be tough to beat France but they are capable to do it.
May the best team wins, I just want to see a big final with both teams trying to win.
Sad for Belgium didn't make the final, I believe Belgium-Croatia is the game that would be more fantastic and more exciting because it would be the first World Cup final for both countries and I believe they would let everything on the field honor them homeland but it is What is.
What is the secret of the Swedes? Do they imbibe the powers of the mighty enemies they keep defeating? Well done.Shades of Highlander (1986).
Connor MacLeod: There can be only one!
What is the secret of the Swedes?I think much of it is thanks to our coach; some say he is both ordinary and special at the same time, whatever that means. :)
We have great defensive skills, but honestly, we have been pretty lucky in our goal scoring so far, and we'll have to play even better to beat England.
That is some impressive defense by Russia; Spain couldn't get the ball in the box.
These are different times, this "tiki-taka" doesn't work well with teams that play ultra-defensive.

subset: commoncrawl


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Embroidery Patterns
SMALL PACK Embroidery Patterns - FRIDGE MAGNETS
Remember these? Who didn't have a jumble of these colorful letters scattered across the fridge as a kid? No need to worry about lining these letters up! They'll look best when dancing around and off-center.
Choose iron-on transfer, downloadable PDF with COLOR Guides, or combo of both for a special price!
About our pattern formats.


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Battleship Synopsis and Credits
Peter Berg (Hancock) produces and directs Battleship, an epic action-adventure that unfolds across the seas, in the skies and over land as our planet fights for survival against a superior force. Based on Hasbro's classic naval combat game, Battleship stars Taylor Kitsch as Lt. Alex Hopper, a Naval officer assigned to the USS John Paul Jones; Brooklyn Decker as Sam Shane, a physical therapist and Hopper's fiancée; Alexander Skarsgård as Hopper's older brother, Stone, Commanding Officer of the USS Sampson; Rihanna as Petty Officer Raikes, Hopper's crewmate and a weapons specialist on the USS John Paul Jones; and international superstar Liam Neeson as Hopper and Stone's superior (and Sam's father), Admiral Shane. Berg directs this epic action-adventure also produced by Scott Stuber (Couples Retreat), Sarah Aubrey (The Kingdom), Brian Goldner and Bennett Schneir of Hasbro (the Transformers franchise), along with Duncan Henderson (Master and Commander). Summer 2012 begins with the biggest battle of all: Battleship.
"Battleship" stars Alexander Skarsgard, Asano Tadanobu, Brooklyn Decker, Hamish Linklater, Jesse Plemons, Liam Neeson, Rihanna, and Taylor Kitsch.
Directed by Peter Berg.
Written by Erich Hoeber and Jon Hoeber.
Produced by Bennett Schneir, Brian Goldner, Duncan Henderson, Peter Berg, Sarah Aubrey, and Scott Stuber.
Production company/distributor: Universal Pictures.
Release Date: May 18, 2012


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Origami Owl Live
Watch It. Shop It. Wear It.
Get ideas. Get inspired. Discover how to create unique, customizable jewelry to gift or keep for yourself! From seasonal exclusives, limited-time looks and "how to's," follow us on the Origami Owl Facebook page for live events, and always find the latest videos here where you can shop the looks you love.


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We are running low on exclamation points here at the Stately Manor and Office Depot is back-ordered. If you can spare a cupful, neighbor, stop on by. We'll leave the light on and feed the attack dog.
Your perspicacious Squire has marked up today's Sunday New York Times (07-01-18) with underlined, yellow-highlighted, and ALL-CAPS comments followed by a string of exclamation points!!!! and at least one profanity!!!! (Soon to be a collector's edition.)
Right on Page One, upper right corner is a tendentious headline, which itself is rendered in ALL CAPS!!!!
First Amendment Cited to Reduce Regulation and Protect Bias
Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot!
"Weaponized"? Point-blank accusation that nefarious conservatives are using this constitutional protection to "protect bias." Whose bias? (The New York Times's bias?) Just as deplorable, "to reduce regulation." Must have … more regulation! Government regulation of who may speak, when they may speak, and what they may say.
Who regulates? Government regulates. Yes, at the behest of the majority. May we remind the Times that the Bill of Rights protects the rights of individuals, not of the government? That it protects the rights of the minority? That those rights cannot be abridged by the majority? (Now we're running out of question marks.)
Otherwise our democracy would devolve into two wolves and a sheep voting on what to eat for dinner. The headline on the Page 24 jump is even worse:
How the First Amendment Became a Cudgel Wielded by Conservatives
A "cudgel." Great Middle English word. Beat it with a stick. "Cudgel" implies victims. Our liberal-progressive-socialist acquaintances feed off victims like Popeye on spinach.
A 'more just' society without free speech
Happily, there is some journalism sprinkled within the article itself. Reporter Adam Liptak quotes free-speech advocate Floyd Abrams, who notes that "Now the progressive community is, at the least, skeptical and sometimes distraught at the level of First Amendment protection …"
But this is what the social justice warriors do. When they can't win an argument, they try to drown out that argument. Speak up for police in Madison schools, get shouted down. What is distressing is the number of law school professors the NY Times quotes who are opposed to free political speech.
"It's a mistake to think of free speech as an effective means to accomplish a more just society," says a law prof at Georgtown U. That's straight up Vladimir Lenin.
To the contrary, free speech reinforces and amplifies injustice, Catharine A. MacKinnon, a law professor at the University of Michigan. "Once a defense of the powerless, the First Amendment over the last hundred years has mainly become a weapon of the powerful."
Because the wrong people are speaking.
Our cudgel — if we may be allowed a politically incorrect thought — should be trained on Elena Kagan. It was that liberal Justice who used the term "weaponizing" in her dissent from Janus v. AFSCME. The court's conservatives (presumably including swing justice Anthony Kennedy):
… had found a dangerous tool, "turning the First Amendment into a sword."
The United States, she said, should brace itself. "Speech is everywhere — a part of every human activity (employment, health care, securities trading, you name it)," she wrote. "For that reason, almost all economic and regulatory policy affects or touches speech. So the majority's road runs long. And at every stop are black-robed rulers overriding citizens' choices."
No, not "black-robed rulers" but guardians of America's founding documents, protectors of individual rights. Those "citizens' choices" being over-ridden are laws enacted by the majority that force the minority to parrot state-approved orthodoxy.
Such as forcing a pro-life pregnancy center to advocate for abortion. (The Becerra case, decided 6-26-18). Forcing a Christian baker to create a bespoke work of edible art against his conscience. (Masterpiece Cakeshop). Forcing a state employee to pay for state legislation with which he disagrees. (Janus.)
The right to dissent, Justice Kagan. Something you better get used to.
Blaska's Bottom Line: The shame is that our news media, most of it, actively supports the abrogation of individual free speech. (See their complicity in the government's John Doe II speech raids on private homes. Now THERE was a cudgel!) As long as they enjoy a generous carve-out. Imagine the State of Wisconsin ordering The Capital Times to publish both sides of an issue!


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I have an infatuation with the Middle East. Maybe it stems from my fascination with biblical history; maybe it's due to the aura of mystery and exotic culture that I've always associated with the region. I'm pretty sure, though, that a large part of my interest in the area is due to the fact that I love Middle Eastern food. Period. The spices, the beans, the rich flavors...yum!
(somewhat unrelated)...I was studying with a friend this afternoon and decided to cook for us. I looked in my fridge and realized I had the right ingredients to make something that I saw earlier that day when I was browsing through some global food blogs. It was called "mujadara." I admit, I had to look it up to see what it was; it's apparently an Arabic dish popular among Egyptians and Syrians. Arab Christians eat it during Lent, and Middle Eastern Jews traditionally eat it twice a week. It has a couple of odd nicknames: it's called "Esau's favorite" (maybe the Biblical patriarchs ate this dish!!!), and the word "mujadara" apparently means "smallpox"because the lentils among the rice resemble pockmarks. I'm glad I didn't know that last fact when eating it, because I might have been a bit disturbed.
Anyways, interesting history aside, this was delicious!
I didn't make the traditional mujadara, which consists of just cooked lentils, rice, sautéed onions, and spices... I added a bit more to it :) I definitely liked how it turned out. The extra ingredients add more complexity to the flavors, and the combination and it got the stamp of approval from my friend!
Mushroom and Raisin Mujadara
inspired by this recipe
1/2 a large onion
1 1/2 button mushrooms
a handful of chopped kale
1 cup cooked lentils
1 cup brown rice
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup raisins
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
1. Cook the rice and lentils separately. I cheated and used pre-cooked lentils from Trader Joe's just because they're so easy and convenient.
2. Slice the onions into 1/4 to 1/2 inch strips, then sauté over medium heat with the olive oil.
caramelizing onions always smells delicious :)
3. Chop up the mushrooms! (Ignore the cilantro...I originally considered adding it to the dish but later decided the flavors were fine without it!)
4. After the mushrooms are about 3/4 of the way cooked through, add in the mushrooms and chopped kale. These veggies aren't in traditional mujadara but I decided to add them in to make the dish healthier...and also because mushrooms and caramelized onions always go together in my book!
Stir-fry until the veggies are done (the mushrooms and kale stems should be soft). You might have to add some water to keep the onions from burning.
5. Fold in the lentils and rice. Add the cinnamon, cumin, salt, and pepper. You can also add the raisins here. I personally really liked the raisins in the dish; it gave it a unique sweetness and pop of flavor! However, if you don't like raisins...go ahead and omit them, I suppose. I recommend them though :)
6. Spoon out and enjoy while still warm!
Try it, and eat like Jacob and Isaac.


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In this forum, you'll find everything from little hints about using Scrapbook MAX!'s many features to full, step-by-step tutorials about making gorgeous digital scrapbook pages with Scrapbook MAX!.
Feel free to share the creative and/or time-saving tips and techniques you find yourself using that make your scrapbooks oh-so-gorgeous. You may be using a shortcut or creative approach that no one else has thought of or that many of us don't realize can be done with the software - there are so many amazing things you can do with Scrapbook MAX! that this happens all the time!
So that others can spot your tip easily, be sure to give your thread a good, descriptive title. And if you're inspired to do so, reply to the thread where you found the tip with a post that displays how you used that technique (you can link to layouts posted in the Scrapbook MAX! gallery.)
Looking forward to a bounty of creativity in this forum. Thanks for stopping by and for sharing!


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High altitude health: Listen to your heart
High Country Healthcare
When it comes to measuring good heart health, doctors in the region often refer to the unofficial Summit Country Treadmill Test – the unfortunate reality that living at altitude or visiting our mountain towns tends to exacerbate current health issues or bring out previously unidentified ones. Worldwide, more than 140 million people live above 8,200 feet (mostly in the Andes and Asia). Compared with acclimatized newcomers, native Andean and Himalayan populations have better oxygenation at birth, increased heart and lung volumes throughout life and a higher capacity for exercise.
Locally, my medical practice includes a lot of older people and, overall, we have a healthy population of seniors in Summit County. They are a self-selected group: Those who cannot tolerate the altitude simply don't stay here. I was sad to say good-bye to several longtime friends and clients recently based on their deteriorating health.
Altitude affects a number of different health conditions. Perhaps the most important thing to understand is that anything that causes oxygen depreciation and decreased blood flow can result in both short- and long-term problems.
My clients in their 50s and 60s often have coronary artery disease (a narrowing of arteries that reduces blood flow to the heart). This can create additional strain on the heart during exercise, especially in cold weather. I also see patients with diastolic heart dysfunction, which can eventually lead to heart failure. At stage one, I call this "tired heart muscle," and it can be prevented by maintaining fitness as we age. For overall heart health, common sense prevails: eat healthy, enjoy moderate exercise and find social support among family and loved ones in the community.
For visitors, some advance preparation may make a visit more enjoyable, as just about anyone can get altitude sickness if they ascend too quickly. In particular, people with heart conditions ranging from uncontrolled arrhythmias to congestive heart failure – along with those diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (advancing emphysema and repeated bronchitis) should always check with their physician before planning a visit above 9,000 feet.
A baseline level of fitness will help anyone planning to be active at high altitude. An overnight stay at an intermediate altitude like Denver, good hydration, exercising gently for the first day or two, avoiding excessive alcohol and limiting the use of benzodiazepines like valium or clonazepam which suppress breathing rates can all be helpful.
A drug called Acetazolamide (Diamox) taken 24 hours prior to arrival and for the first two days can be effective at preventing altitude sickness. It stimulates breathing, raises blood oxygen levels and increases urination (which decreases the fluid accumulation that can strain the heart and lungs).
And there is also good news: Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine found that people living at higher altitudes have a lower chance of dying from ischemic heart disease and tend to live longer than others. It may be that lower oxygen levels turn on certain genes which may change the way heart muscles function. These genes may also produce additional blood vessels that create new highways for blood flow into the heart. A second explanation could be that increased solar radiation at altitude helps the body better synthesize vitamin D, which has also been shown to have beneficial effects on the heart and some kinds of cancer.
The study determined that of the top 20 counties with the highest life expectancy, 16 were located in Colorado and Utah at a mean elevation of 5,967 feet above sea level. Compared to those living near sea-level, the men lived 1.2 to 3.6 years longer and women enjoyed an extra 0.5 to 2.5 years.
Decide how you will spend this extra time. Take care of your heart whether you live at high altitude (or if you are a lowlander visiting this mountain paradise). We'd rather find you exercising in the sunshine than unexpectedly taking the Summit County Treadmill Test.
Dr. Charles Lackey has practiced family medicine in Summit County since 1977. He sees clients with all general health concerns at High Country Healthcare's Frisco office, specializing in medicine throughout the aging process. His work in emergency rooms in Leadville, Denver and Summit County has netted long-term experience in treating altitude illnesses.
Dr. Charles Lackey will lead this week's Walk with a Doc to discuss Altitude and Heart Health. Meet at 9 a.m. Saturday outside the Medical Office Building next to the Summit Medical Center. For details, visit http://www.HighCountryHealth.com.
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Roughly 24 years ago, I was a fine arts graduate student, working with photo serigraphy on large-scale paintings, in the College of Visual and Performing Arts at UMass Dartmouth.
Roughly 24 years ago, I was a fine arts graduate student, working with photo serigraphy on large-scale paintings, in the College of Visual and Performing Arts at UMass Dartmouth.
My grad school colleagues included those involved in a dozen disciplines including sculpture, ceramics, fiber arts, graphic design, metal works, video, typography, and woodworking/furniture design. As was my wont, I attended many of the thesis defenses of my colleagues as they answered questions about their work from faculty, advisors and other students, as a requisite of the program.
One day, I attended a formal critique of the work of William Rhodes, a graduate student furniture maker from Baltimore. A beautiful chair sat on a low pedestal like an object of veneration. His woodworking colleagues and instructors circled the chair and delivered (what I vaguely remember as) thoughtful inquiries about style, history, technique, tradition and influence. Rhodes answered with nervous respect. And then I asked a question. "Can I sit in it?"
There was an audible gasp. Rhodes smiled and he pulled the chair down from the riser. "No one ever asks if they can sit in my chairs. Go ahead. It's a chair!" I did. It was comfortable. I was happy. So was Rhodes.
The current exhibition at Gallery 65 on William is "Please Be Seated," a wonderfully curated paean to the chair as object of beauty, exemplar of craftsmanship, and most important, as a place to park one's butt. South Dartmouth woodworker Brian Weir has done an admirable job presenting the works of some fine artisans in a straightforward and thoughtful manner.
"Zaisu & Zabuton" is a legless chair by Michael Pietragalla, made from mahogany, ebony and purpleheart. Drawing from Asian influences, the chair will ultimately join others like it around a low-to-the-ground table, in traditional style. Pietragalla, who also carves ornate chopsticks, shows great respect for the craft and discipline of Japanese culture.
At the other end of the spectrum is "Fridgecouch 753i Dual-Temp" by Adrian Johnson. Repurposed elements of an old refrigerator and the cracked black leather backseat of an old BMW are married to form a cool and funky loveseat. Two of the refrigerator shelves are attached to one end as a side table.
"Appalachian Rocker" is a roughly hewn old-school hillbilly rocking chair made from red oak, white oak and black walnut.
The woodworker Michael P. Dyer's hand is evident in the carving. Scars and voids in the wood and the tight weave of the seat caning conjure character that could only be amplified by the addition of a bloodhound and a Mason jar of corn whiskey.
Parker Converse's "Rocking Chair" of cherry and curly maple also has a bit of that hillbilly aesthetic, but it is one o' them fancy book-learned hillbilly aesthetics. Its influences are clear and Converse reconfigures that sensibility with sophistication and comfort. (Yup. I sat in it.)
Corwin Butterworth's "Musician's Stool" is lyrical and elegant in its simplicity. "Chair #4," created from walnut and handsomely joined, by curator Weir, has a distinctly modernist and Danish feel. "Counter Chair" by Robbi Staples is tall and blond, made from tiger maple and zebrawood, and it adds a sense of informal regality to the setting.
Beyond the actual chairs, there are paintings of chairs by Nan Starr, tiny sculpted ceramic chairs by Amy Schusser, and a photograph of a gathering of chairs by Neil Alexander. These complementary elements help to cement the cohesiveness of the exhibition.
Hey, I made it through this without a Clint Eastwood joke! "Please Be Seated" is on display at Gallery 65 on William, 65 William St., New Bedford, until Nov. 29.
Don Wilkinson is a painter and art critic who lives in Fairhaven. Contact him at


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- This event has passed.
Cursillo Meeting
February 15 @ 7:00 AM - 8:00 AM
|Recurring Event (See all)
An event every week that begins at 7:00 AM on Saturday, repeating indefinitely
Cursillo is a world-wide Lay Movement of the Roman Catholic Church which began in the 1940s. The word cursillo means "short course in Christian living." Cursillo begins with a three-day weekend retreat during which a series of talks are given by both clergy and laity. The retreat provides an opportunity to en- counter Christ through the Eucharist, prayer, discussion, reflections, and com- munity-building. Following the retreat, Cursillo provides an ongoing, small- group experience to support Christian discipleship in all of our environments – family, church, work, and community.


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Fullback Jamize Olawale on Tuesday signed the one-year contract tendered him by the Raiders in advance of free agency.
Olawale is the second of Oakland's six exclusive-rights free agents to sign the one-year tender offered them earlier this month.
The four others have yet to sign, though all are expected to, given they don't have any leverage because they don't have enough experience to be unrestricted free agents.
Safety Brandian Ross re-signed with the Raiders in early March. Offensive tackle Matt McCants, linebacker Kaelin Burnett, cornerback Chimdi Chekwa and running back Jeremy Stewart have yet to sign their tenders.
Olawale played in all 16 games last season, his second with the Raiders. He developed into a front-line blocker in the run game and as a core special teams player.


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If you are searching for a New Zealand travel package that offers just what you want, at the best available price from a reputable and dependable company, fantastic – you just found Kiwiway.
Our reputation as an enduring New Zealand holiday provider was built from four decades of satisfied clients, a relentless can-do attitude, and great package deals.
Kiwiway, established in 1973, is New Zealand's leading provider of package tours to suit travellers of all ages, tastes and budgets. At Kiwiway we are eager to share New Zealand's stunning landscapes, generous people and unique lifestyle with our customers.
Kiwiway's strength lies in our years of experience, our staff's expertise and integrity and the fact that we are still family owned and run which means we take personal pride in each and every tour we arrange.
Whether you're seeking a relaxing getaway through a guided coach tour, a luxury tour, or a high-energy, independent adventure expedition, Kiwiway can effortlessly tailor a package that meets your needs.
We offer a variety of options:
Our tour options can be all-inclusive – meals, accommodation, and airport transfers all incorporated into the package cost or you can choose more of an independent, free style of travel with a rental car and accommodation only option.
On our website, you will find a handy calculator application that can help you quickly work out the total cost of your chosen itinerary.
Book a Kiwiway tour today, and start packing your suitcase tomorrow!


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- "Hogwarts should be Dumbledore's final resting place."
- —Filius Flitwick[src]
The White Tomb is the only grave at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Located on the shores of the lake, it is the final resting place of the Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, who willingly gave his life in the service of the Order of the Phoenix fighting Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters in the course of the Second Wizarding War.
- ""No Headmaster has ever done so much for us.""
- —Rubeus Hagrid on Albus Dumbledore
It was Dumbledore's wish to be laid to rest in Hogwarts' grounds, and his supporters, friends, and colleagues ensured that his wish was carried out. Despite the fact that no other Headmasters or Headmistresses had ever been laid to rest at Hogwarts before, the Ministry respected Dumbledore's wishes due to his great standing in the wizarding community. During his funeral, directly after a man gave his eulogy, his body was encased in bright white flames that gave off smoke in strange patterns, and Harry Potter thought he saw the form of a phoenix fly out of the blaze. When it subsided, Dumbledore was closed in this tomb.
- "...or from breaking into your tomb."
- —Harry Potter on Lord Voldemort[src]
In 1998, Lord Voldemort, during his search for the Elder Wand, demanded the location of the wand from Gellert Grindelwald in his cell in Nurmengard prison. Grindelwald refused to tell him anything, possibly out of a desire not to see his old friend's grave desecrated, or as a sign of remorse for all the atrocities he committed earlier in his life. However, Voldemort eventually deduced that Dumbledore had won the Elder Wand from Grindelwald, who himself stole it from Gregorovitch. Voldemort flew to Hogwarts and used his own wand to crack open the White Tomb from head to foot, and then removed the sheets from around Dumbledore's body, allowing him to take the wand within, which had been buried with its owner. He did not realise that Harry Potter had won the allegiance of the wand from Draco during a skirmish in the Malfoy Manor not long before.Following Voldemort's death on May 2 at the conclusion of the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry Potter, the one who had slain Voldemort utilising his mastership of the Elder Wand, returned the wand to the White Tomb, restoring it and ensuring Dumbledore's resting place would remain undisturbed.
Behind the scenes
- Instead of being located at the shores of the Black Lake, the White Tomb is located on an island in the lake which is where Voldemort breaks in the tomb at the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.
- The island the White Tomb is located on in the movies can be seen during a shot where the camera zooms into Hogwarts Castle in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film).
- Originally, Alfonso Cuaron, who directed the third film, was going to include a graveyard on the Hogwarts grounds. J. K. Rowling rejected this idea, seeing as the White Tomb is the only grave located at the school.
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (First mentioned)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) (Appears on conceptual artwork only)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (Appears in vision(s))
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)


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Shop Only Genuine Honda Parts & Accessories
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Exterior styling & concept Stefano RighiniInterior designer Carlo Galeazzi On board this beautiful Azimut 55 Evolution, engineering and design are excellent traveling companions. The big side windows have been designed to improve internal lighting and present a stylish exterior, while the clean, rounded lines of the stern area offer the maximum possible habitability. The yacht is fitted with both, bow and stern-thrusters, generator, air conditioning, Sat TV system, hydraulic crane and sunbathing area on flybridge, and offers accommodation for six guests, plus crew. She has been very well maintained, only privately used, and is in 'turn-key' condition. Viewing highly recommended.
The Company offers the details of this vessel in good faith but cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. A buyer should instruct his agents, or his surveyors, to investigate such details as the buyer desires validated. This vessel is offered subject to prior sale, price change, or withdrawal without notice.
Head Office: Suite 1 Burn House 19 Town Range Gibraltar (UK)
Balearic, Spain, Gibraltar, French Riviera, Italy
Gibraltar (UK)


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The test will be on 12/5. Your goal will be to write a Java application and submit it before the end of class. You will have the entire three hours to complete the test. Here are the things you should be able to do and may be asked on the test:
Create a random number between a low value and a high value
Ask the user to enter a number
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text:
American woman infected with Ebola arrives in U.S.
- NEW: Nancy Writebol is very weak but has shown signs of improvement
- The missionary, who was working in Liberia, has arrived back in the United States
- She is only the second known Ebola patient to be treated in the United States
- A man in Saudi Arabia who was in Sierra Leone has symptoms of viral hemorrhagic fever
Atlanta (CNN) -- Nancy Writebol's family says it was making funeral plans for her last week as she lay stricken with Ebola in Liberia amid the disease's deadliest recorded outbreak.
After an experimental serum and a plane flight, she's now the second human Ebola patient on U.S. soil, and her relatives think she has a fighting chance.
A medical plane on Tuesday flew Writebol from Liberia to Atlanta, where she was rushed to the same hospital where an American missionary colleague arrived days earlier. Like her, he was sickened by the deadly hemorrhagic disease while on a team caring for Ebola patients in Monrovia.
Writebol was wheeled into Emory University Hospital early Tuesday afternoon on a gurney, wearing a white, full-body protective suit and escorted by two people wearing similar gear.
There, she joins her fellow missionary Dr. Kent Brantly, who became the first Ebola patient ever in the United States on Saturday, for treatment in a special isolation unit. It is one of four of its kind in the United States designed to optimize care for those with highly infectious diseases.
"Nancy is still very weak" but has shown signs of improvement, said Bruce Johnson, president of Christian mission group SIM USA, with which Writebol is affiliated.
Writebol's arrival contrasted with that of Brantly, who wore a similar suit but walked into the hospital Saturday with someone's assistance.
Writebol, of North Carolina, and Brantly, of Texas and Indiana, were on a joint Samaritan's Purse-SIM team caring for Ebola patients last month when they became sick in Liberia. That is one of four West African nations hit by an outbreak that the World Health Organizationbelieves has sickened 1,603 people and killed 887 of them.
Writebol's two sons expect to communicate with her soon, Johnson said. The family was considering funeral arrangements for her just last week, days after she became sick, David Writebol said through Johnson.
"Yet we kept our faith, (and) now we have real reason to be hopeful," David Writebol said in a statement read by Johnson.
Though there is no proven treatment or vaccine for Ebola, Brantlyand Writebol were recently given an experimental, U.S.-manufactured drug in Liberia while they were awaiting evacuation to the United States. Both have since shown significant improvement, sources said on condition of anonymity.
What the inside of the evacuation plane looks like
The gruesome disease that can torment victims with profuse vomiting, uncontrollable bleeding and organ failure is ravaging West Africa. The outbreak started this year in Guinea but also has affected Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
The flight and the experimental serum
Though Writebol was weak, she had yogurt before her flight early Saturday from Liberia to the United States, Johnson said. She was taken to the plane by stretcher, but she stood up and entered the plane with assistance, he said.
The experimental drug ZMapp, which Brantly and Writebol received despite the medication never being subjected to clinical trials, is getting a lot of attention.
Just last Thursday, Brantly's condition in Liberia had deteriorated so badly that he called his wife to say goodbye.
But three vials of ZMapp stored at subzero temperatures were flown into Liberia. Brantly and Writebol took the drug, and their conditions improved before they evacuated to the United States.
9 questions about this new Ebola drug
The medicine is thought to work by preventing the virus from entering and infecting new cells. It's a three-mouse monoclonal antibody -- meaning mice were exposed to fragments of the Ebola virus, and the antibodies generated within the mice's blood were harvested to create the medicine.
While Brantly and Writebol's conditions improved after taking the drug, the serum shouldn't be viewed as a miracle cure, internist and gastroenterologist Dr. Jorge Rodriguez said.
"Let's be cautious. We don't even know really if this serum is working," Rodriguez said. "I'm glad now that these patients were brought to a hospital where so many tests can be done, where they can see the response of their body to this serum. We don't know if these patients are naturally getting better, or whether the serum is really doing something."
Many have asked why the two Americans received the experimental drug when so many in West Africa also have the virus.
The World Health Organization says it was not involved in the decision to treat Brantly and Writebol. Both patients had to give consent to receive the drug knowing it had never been tested in humans before.
The process by which the medication was made available to the American patients may have fallen under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's "compassionate use" regulation, which allows access to investigational drugs outside clinical trials.
American Ebola patient 'seems to be improving,' CDC chief says
How Ebola spreads
Ebola doesn't spread through the air or water. The disease spreads through contact with infected organs and bodily fluids such as blood, saliva and urine.
Historically, the odds have not been good. Previous Ebola outbreaks have had a fatality rate of 90%, but the current outbreak in West Africa has a rate of about 60%, perhaps because of early treatment.
There is no FDA-approved treatment for Ebola. Emory will use "supportive care" for its two Ebola patients, unit supervisor Dr. Bruce Ribner said.
That means carefully tracking a patient's symptoms, vital signs and organ function and using blood transfusions and dialysis to keep patients stable.
The National Institutes of Health plans to begin testing an experimental Ebola vaccine in people as early as September. Tests on primates have been successful.
In the 1990s, an Ebola strain tied to monkeys -- Ebola-Reston -- was found in the United States, but no humans got sick from it, according to the CDC.
What is the risk of catching Ebola on a plane?
Concerns, testing spread outside Africa
A man hospitalized in New York City was in strict isolation Monday and Tuesday, waiting to learn whether he has the disease.
The patient became ill after recently traveling to West Africa, New York's Mount Sinai Hospital said.
Doctors were trying to confirm the cause of the man's high fever and gastrointestinal symptoms. A specimen from the patient was delivered to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta; testing typically is completed within 48 hours, the hospital said Tuesday.
But "odds are this is not Ebola," said Dr. Jeremy Boal, chief medical officer of the Mount Sinai Health System. "It's much more likely that it's a much more common condition."
The patient was stable Monday night into Tuesday and was in "good spirits," the hospital said in a news release Tuesday.
CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta agrees. About half a dozen people have recently returned from West Africa and gotten tested because of symptoms, but none of those cases has been confirmed as Ebola, Gupta said.
Doctors in Saudi Arabia are also taking precautions as they treat a 40-year-old man who recently returned from Sierra Leone.
The man was in critical condition Tuesday with symptoms of a viral hemorrhagic fever, the Saudi Health Ministry said.
The source of his infection remains unknown, but Ebola cannot be ruled out, the ministry said.
亞特蘭大(CNN) -南希Writebol的家人說,這是使她在上週的葬禮計劃,她則患了埃博拉病毒在利比里亞際疾病的致命爆發記錄。
組圖:埃博拉疫情在西非 組圖:埃博拉疫情在西非
該藥物被認為是通過阻止病毒進入和感染新的細胞,以正常工作。它是一個三小鼠單克隆抗體 - 即小鼠暴露於埃博拉病毒的片段,並在小鼠的血液中所產生的抗體,收穫創建的藥。
在20世紀90年代,一個埃博拉毒株拴猴子 - 埃博拉萊斯頓 - 被發現在美國,但沒有人得到了它生病了,根據疾病預防控制中心。
醫生們正試圖確認該男子的高熱和胃腸道症狀的原因。來自患者的標本被送到疾病控制中心和預防在亞特蘭大; 測試通常在48小時內完成,醫院在星期二說。


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"Project Nim," a new documentary by James Marsh, is a probing, unsettling study of primate behavior, focusing on the complex dynamics of power, sex and group bonding in a species whose startling capacity for selfishness and aggression is offset by occasional displays of intelligence and compassion.
The movie also features a chimpanzee.
His name — a human imposition, like everything else in this creature's remarkable, heartbreaking life — is Nim Chimpsky. In the 1970s he enjoyed (or endured) a season of fame as a research subject. Shortly after his birth at an Oklahoma laboratory, Nim was taken from his mother's side and delivered to New York, where he became part of an experiment, led by a Columbia professor, Herbert Terrace, to determine whether an ape could be taught human language.
It is a bit curious that Mr. Marsh's film has nothing to say about the roots of Nim's name, a jab at the influential linguist Noam Chomsky, whose theories about the innateness and uniqueness of language to humans were the implicit target of Dr. Terrace's work. His project was an effort to discern if a chimpanzee could learn sign language and if that learning could proceed beyond the mimicry of specific gestures into the creation of grammatical sentences. If Nim could be raised more or less as a human child, and could master human communication, that would challenge the Chomskyan idea of language as a special, hard-wired trait fundamentally separating us from other animals. (Koko the gorilla, another celebrated signing ape born around the same time as Nim, also tested this hypothesis.)
"Project Nim" glances briefly at the scientific controversy that shaped Nim's fate, but Mr. Marsh is less interested in comparatively dry matters of linguistics or neurobiology than in a humid, messy domain of identity and emotion that has, in the past, been the terrain of psychoanalysis. And of literature: Nim, thrown from one home to another, vulnerable to cruelty and neglect and dependent on the kindness of strangers, resembles the titular hero of a Dickens novel, an orphan buffeted by circumstances whose biography is also a fable of individual virtue and social injustice.
A helpless innocent compared with his protectors and tormentors, Nim bounces like a long-armed David Copperfield from one unnatural home to another — a Manhattan brownstone, an estate in the Bronx, a medical testing center upstate — living through periods of pastoral bliss and gothic horror. His tale is Dickensian, but also Kafkaesque, since he is at the mercy of powerful forces beyond his ken or control.
Red Peter, the learned ape in Kafka's devastating "Report to an Academy," dreams, above all else, of a "way out," and to watch footage of the young Nim at play and in confinement is to infer that he must have known a similar longing. Unlike the Kafka character, however, this educated primate never acquired enough words to tell us his story, and so "Project Nim" relies on human interlocutors, some of whom cared about Nim a great deal, almost all of whom wind up telling us more about themselves.
They are a remarkable collection, often at odds and sometimes in bed with one another, with Nim as their pawn, rival or surrogate child as well as the blank slate on which they inscribe their fantasies and intellectual conceits. Dr. Terrace, speaking with precision and detachment in present-day interviews, is either resigned to being the film's designated villain or oblivious to being set up for that role. His former colleagues, some of them also former lovers, don't have much good to say, and the '70s footage, showing an academic dandy with a comb-over, a BMW and a Burt Reynolds mustache, is hardly flattering.
For the first few years of Nim's life, Dr. Terrace was the master of his fate, though not always a significant presence in the chimp's day-to-day routine. After leaving Oklahoma, Nim was installed in the home of Stephanie LaFarge, where he became part of a household that included seven children, at least one dog and Ms. LaFarge's husband, a poet and "rich hippie" who appears to have been Nim's romantic rival.
Ms. LaFarge, an open and genial interview subject, drops a few casual bombshells testifying to what the psychobabble of our own time might call boundary issues. "It was the '70s," her now grown-up daughter Jenny Lee says, but even then, and even on the Upper West Side, it might have been a bit unusual for a woman to breastfeed a baby chimpanzee.
After a while, Nim was transferred to an estate in Riverdale, cared for and tutored by young people — most of them women — who come before Mr. Marsh's camera in middle age to recall the pleasures and dangers of working with their spirited simian charge. It is hard not to be charmed by the affection that passes between these humans and the chimp, or to appreciate what seems to be a reciprocated effort at communication. But at the same time it is difficult to avoid a certain queasiness at the sight of a wild creature forcibly and irrevocably alienated from his nature — dressed in clothes, tethered and caged, smoking a joint out in the woods with his pals. You laugh, sometimes, to force the lump out of your throat.
There is no doubt that Nim was exploited, and also no doubt that he was loved. Mr. Marsh, by allowing those closest to Nim plenty of room to explain themselves, examines the moral complexity of this story without didacticism. He allows the viewer, alternately appalled, touched and fascinated, to be snagged on some of its ethical thorns. He also engages in a bit of manipulation, using sleight-of-hand re-enactments and Dickon Hinchliffe's nerve-rackingly melodramatic score to sensationalize a drama that hardly requires it.
Mr. Marsh, whose last documentary was the lovely, Oscar-winning "Man on Wire," is a patient listener and an able storyteller, but the subject of "Project Nim" is so rich and strange that it might have benefited from the hand of a wilder, bolder filmmaker. An obsessive like Errol Morris or Werner Herzog might have pushed beyond pathos and curiosity, deeper into the literal no man's land that lies between us and our estranged animal relations. But it is also possible that our language and our science do not equip us to understand the truth about Nim — or the truth about us that he may have discovered through years of rigorous, involuntary research.
"Project Nim" is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). Strong language, drug use, sexual references and depictions of animal suffering.
Opens on Friday in New York and Chicago.
Directed by James Marsh; based on the book "Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human" by Elizabeth Hess; director of photography, Michael Simmonds; edited by Jinx Godfrey; music by Dickon Hinchliffe; produced by Simon Chinn; released by Roadside Attractions/HBO Documentary Films. Running time: 1 hour 33 minutes.


text: Hello everyone, I am currently learning about applet in Java (actually quite new to this dimension). I have been searching some information about the applet and tried some coding regarding applet while at the same time discovered something about Javascript. From what I read, they look and sound quite similar to me. But, the fact is, I cant really make a clear distinction between these two. Is there any difference (like in a specific way) between those two? Is it that one is superior than the other or the other way round at the current being? I would greatly appreciate any guidelines/ help that can be provided to clear my confusion.


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Les Fenottes: Champions of Europe
Lyon 2-0 Potsdam (26:05:11)
You wait a couple of years for an EFW report on women's football, and then two come along at once. After yesterday's look at the FA Cup Final, here's Calum Mechie on the Champions League Final....
It was my aim to write about this game on its own terms, without continual comparison with the men's game, and I will do so – in a paragraph or two.
It would be remiss, in the period between the two UEFA Champions League finals, of me not to mention the huge disparity that characterizes football's gender divide. On Saturday evening, Wembley (capacity 90,000) will be full to the brim of punters who have each paid at least £175 for the privilege. On Thursday night, Craven Cottage (capacity 25,700) was around half-full; this in spite of tickets being priced at a very friendly £5 a pop. UEFA is a consummate marketing machine and they know the value of their product. The huge gap in the affordability of access to these two flagship events is a sorry indictment of UEFA's estimation of the quality of one half of that product.
Think of it like this, Platini and his cronies are sufficiently brazen to charge a frankly ludicrous £26 'administration fee' on top of the already painful price of a ticket to the men's final because they know that people will pay it. That the same amount would get you five (5! FIVE!) actual, tangible tickets (as opposed to the abstract, ethereal and most probably non-existent phenomena of 'admin') shows how little faith they have in the women's game. It's a disrespectfully token amount: 'Obviously we're going to lose on this one, but we've got to charge something'. This price is so low, remember the game's in London where theatre tickets start at 10 times that amount, that it probably discouraged as many potentially interested punters as it attracted.
All of this is a massive shame. Craven Cottage is a fun place to watch football and this was a brilliantly entertaining game.
My evening started with Tube delays. It took me the best part of two hours to get from Swiss Cottage to Ealing Broadway. I know! Unbelievable right? So annoying, I don't know how/why we put up with it. Blah blah blah etc. etc.
Anyway, it had been pissing it down beforehand and some stations had flooded (hence the delays), so my time spent underground allowed me to compose the following joke, which was to be my opening sentence: 'Apparently, not even God gives a shit about the Women's UEFA Cup Final and has released the last six weeks' worth of pent up rain upon it this evening'. Great isn't it? Unfortunately/Fortunately the weather improved and I didn't get to use it…
Apart from spawning comic gold (see above), the rain delay seriously curtailed my pre-match drinking. Which was limited to a (very) swift pint of something called 'Junction' in a non-descript, but not cheap, pub on the Fulham Palace Road. The sun had come up by this point, so we were able to enjoy our drinks outside; which is always nice isn't it?
Outside the ground the atmosphere was wonderfully genial. A personal highlight was when I endeared myself to two old boys in luminous jackets, volunteers presumably (must keep costs down!), by asking cheekily where 'the statue' was, being stonily informed that it was 'that way' before lightening the mood by clarifying that 'I meant Johnny, not Michael – come on lads!' Oh how we laughed.
Of course, we really were only interested in seeing the abominable shrine to one of humanity's most shameful creations (Michael, not Johnny) but I now had a 'rep' to protect, so we wandered off in the direction of Johnny Haynes and our seats (don't worry, we snuck back later).
THE statue
I didn't get in here
We were heartwarmingly, but equally unbearably, situated right in front of a group of around ten 10-14 year-old girls (I'm not very good at guessing young girl's ages – a trait perhaps attributed once or twice to a certain famous pop-star). These seemed to be a football team, and their near incessant high-pitched shrieking ('ooh… it's a corner. ooh… it's a corner'; 'the referee's a tomato' – she actually sort of was, more later) was punctuated by some occasionally telling commentary ('she has a good first touch, Miss'). These were exactly the type of people the game should (but didn't really) attract – although the 8 o'clock kick-off time probably did some damage here – and they seemed to really, really enjoy themselves. Which is great (though annoying).
Although, as I've already said, the game was very exciting, the first-half took a bit of time to get going. Lyon's quick and skillful winger Elodie Thomis carried most of the early running, and although she tired in the second half her link-up play with the magnificent Swedish centre forward Lotta Schelin was one of the principal reasons for Lyon's sharper attacking edge throughout. It was through their combination play that Lyon won the corner from which they opened the scoring, Wendie Renard bundling home after Sarholz in the Potsdam goal had kept out the original effort. The girls behind us were particularly delighted by the identity of the goalscorer. Renard, with her superb bonce, stands out and seemed to be their favourite player.
Renard: An exceptionally popular hairdo
My favourite player (though Lyon's Camille Abily won the Player of the Match award) was Amandine Henry, who anchored Lyon's midfield three with a mixture of astute positioning, combative tackling and neat passing. She and Schelin looked the most technically accomplished players, and Lyon's victory was based on their shared ability to dictate the pace of the game.
That's not to say, however, that Potsdam were completely overran. Lyon's first goal came in the 29th minute and the second didn't arrive until the last five minutes. In the interim period their star Fatmire Bajramaj (top scorer Yuki Nagasoto missed out through injury) showed incredibly quick feet and lovely touch in creating a number of chances; two particularly presentable examples squandered by players I unfortunately couldn't identify (one of them could have been Mittag, who had a really poor game).
The hour between the two goals was fairly heroic. To say that referee Dagmar Damkova (yes, she's a she too) let the game flow would be an enormous understatement as even blows to the head were deemed insufficient justification for a blown whistle. Essentially, she blew for disruptive fouls of a cynical nature and very little else. This was not because of unusually dainty tackling; far from it, tackles were flying in all over the shop and players showed an incredible readiness to go to ground in pursuit of possession, but not in pursuit of free-kicks (they wouldn't have got them anyway). For a while, it looked as though the physically superior German side were going to use the veggie-fruitlike referee's leniency to their advantage with Thomis, in particular, on the end of some seriously hefty challenges. Things never got out of hand however and it was to the players' credit that every challenge was rebounded from and responded to with a grin and a handshake.
That said, it would have been nice to see the Lyon phsyio (possibly Europe's fastest almost-bald man) sprint into action on more than the one occasion on which he was required. On the other hand, the referee did fall over and you can't have it all.
Almost-bald Physio (right), a very very fast man; and look! A Female 'Lino', whatever next…
Incredibly, even after substitute Lara Dickenmann rounded off a neat move by absolutely shellacking the ball beyond Sarholz, Potsdam manager Bernd Schröder didn't make a single substitution. I really don't know what to say about that, any ideas?
At full-time the Lyon bench sprinted out to celebrate and the entire squad ran over to dance in front of the area of the stand dedicated to their small but passionate support. They then climbed the stairs into the stands together, which is the best way to receive a trophy. This was handed to them by UEFA president Michel Platini, who I hope enjoyed the game and deemed a fiver exceptionally good value for such entertaining fare*.
I certainly, certainly, did.
* I mean 'fare' here in a firmly metaphorical sense. The actual fare on offer, sampled by me in the form of a 'gourmet beef pie', was absolutely repugnant. For some reason it was wrapped in some form of cellophane – how was it cooked, how on Earth was it cooked? – and was so greasy that I had to skip the post-match pint in order to run home to my toothbrush: so much grease, why oh why won't it come off….
Yuck, Yuck
You can follow Calum and European Football Weekends on Twitter
Calum is the Editor of Good Feet for a Big Man
- Feel free to comment below -


text:
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In a recently released report entitled Making Integrated Food-Energy Systems Work for People and Climate, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) suggests that small-scale farmers who grow crops for food and fuel can help reduce both food and energy insecurity.
Around 3 billion people, or half of the world's population, rely on unsustainable biomass based energy sources, including wood, and around 1.6 billion people still lack access to electricity. With an Integrated Food Energy System (IFES), FAO believes that people will have access to sustainable and reliable energy.
Farmers can incorporate IFES in two ways. The first type of IFES uses intercropping or agroforestry, where farmers utilize the same plot of land to grow food and fuel-generating crops; the second type focuses on maximizing the connection between food crops, livestock, and the production of energy by using manure and crop residues.
In addition to improving food and energy security, IFES hopes to enable farmers to use their resources more efficiently and address the effects of climate change on agriculture, by focusing on soil conservation and increasing biodiversity.
In this report, FAO points to various examples where IFES has helped communities around the globe. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, farmers of the Mampu Plantation in Kinshasa are incorporating food crops along with acacia trees. They convert the wood from the acacia trees in to charcoal and sell it in the neighboring towns. On a yearly basis, these farmers produce between 8,000 to 12,000 tons of charcoal in addition to 10,000 tons of cassava, 1,200 tons of maize and 6 tons of honey. Each farmer earns an income of about $9,000 a year or $750 per month.
In Colombia, Tosoly Farm uses a more complex and highly-integrated approach to produce food and energy for family consumption and for sale. Their primary crop, sugar cane, is used for multiple purposes: the juice is used as a sweetener for cooking; the stalks are used as fodder; and the bagasse, or the substance left after the stalks have been crushed for juice, is used as a fuel source. Pig and human excreta flow in to biodigesters which then provide natural fertilizer for crops. In this way, the farm creates and runs on its own energy, making it nearly self-sufficient.
While IFES provides numerous benefits, such as food and energy security, there are still multiple barriers that inhibit farmers from taking advantage of the system. Some of the energy conversion equipment is costly and many farmers lack the financial support to acquire these technologies. Furthermore, limited access to information and technical support create additional disincentives for small-scale farmers.
FAO, however, is trying to improve government policies and provide the necessary information and technical knowledge to promote the spread of integrated food and energy systems worldwide.
Can you think of ways that governments and organizations can help provide the necessary information and technical knowledge to promote the spread of food and energy systems worldwide? Let us know in the comments!
Supriya Kumar is a communications associate with the Nourishing the Planet project.


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Back in unflattering hospital gown, with black and green squares on white. But have already managed to slip into comfy back trousers for underneath.
Looking for more crazy Middle-earthian fashion. Here's a modern Ms Nazgûl:
The One Ring Messageboard
drieske wrote:Did I mention that I have a black snugly teddy bear coat? One I can really dive into and wrap close around me? I love that coat
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